March 2014 posts

03/31/2014

Hi there, happy monday! First, this post was meant to be ready for Friday...but alas, I found myself knee deep in Spring cleaning organizing and it just never got there...

Second, a warning...You know those emails that you occasionally get from a friend, a good friend whom you haven't played "catch up" with in several weeks. Those emails that are filled full of lots and lots of wonderfully random information and bounce around from subject to subject and are so entertaining and lovely to read? Well, this post is kind of like that!

To start, I'd like to say hooray! This little Buzzmills blog of mine has been around for three years now! It's so hard to believe, three years! Again, it caught me off guard and I've got no big birthday bash giveaway planned, sorry! But, I do have some fun little walk down memory lane pictures (it was meant to be in the vain of a "Flashback Friday" post)...I remember when I started hearing people say things like "Most blogs don't last three months!" and here it is years later and I'm still crafting, creating and sewing away! I admit that even if the blog didn't exist I'd still be making, so why not blog, especially when, if nothing else, it gives me a beautiful recorded history of the kids as they grow...

So, anywho, as I've said in years past..."Thank You!" thanks for reading, for stopping by, for saying hi, and for inspiring me! I hope that you feel even a little bit inspired when you leave! Next...it's the very last day of March and I'm squeezing in my Bold Brilliant Beautiful You challenge at the very last minute! While last month we focused on "I am" statements, this month we are focusing on "I need" statements.

I am by all means a very independent person. I do not ask for help very often. I need...hmmm? Of course there are always the little somewhat tongue in cheek needs, like: more sleep, a glass of wine, a vacation.

And then the very real but not life changing needs like I need to: start cleaning the house more regularly, not let the laundry pile up, wearing sneakers to keep up with the kids on a bike ride... But, what do I need?

The other "Lean on Me" came on the radio and my husband began to explain to the kids the meaning behind the song..."everyone needs a little help sometimes!" And, whether I admit it or not, that is true!

Also, I need change...little change that I control, refresher change, like reorganizing the house for a fresh start to a season. Or new seasonal pictures on the wall... (pictures taken from the most recent Taproot issue, Breathe, by phoebe wahl and geninne zlatkis.)

I need running, or more appropriately, I need the motivation of a race to get me running again... Last week I ran in snow, blustery cold winds, mud, rain, and sleet...all because I am "training" but also because I'm finding I need that time for myself.

I need to slow down occasionally. Let myself be "in between" projects, occasionally...Perhaps, that sounds vague, or selfish, or I don't know...but I do know that I've been feeling a bit harried these past several months always playing "catch up" with lots of things...

I need order. While things are not often in order around here I do work so much better with order. I am a happier person with order.

And lastly, and perhaps most importantly I've come to realize that I need friends! Someone to lean on other than my husband. I'm a fairly independent person (sometimes to a fault) and also a fairly solo person, the whole "I can do it myself mentality"! And while that is often true...it's not always as fun! Friends make raising kids, living away from your home town, blogging, reminiscing, running, trying new things (and so many other things) more enjoyable, easier, and more fulfilling.

So, I might not think about it often...but I do need...What about you, what do you need?

As always, want to be a part of BBBY? Share what you need on Instagram add the hashtag #boldbrilliantbeautiful so we can all see! Or join the Bold. Brilliant. Beautiful. You. group on Facebook!

Want some more information about BBBY? *More about the Bold. Brilliant. Beautiful. You. project... Throughout the year, I'm joining forces with some of my blogging friends to motivate and encourage ourselves and others to be bold and step out from behind the lens, projects, and mama status to show ourselves. We're doing something just for us. And we're inviting you to join us! No judging, no questions, just support and words of encouragement.

I had so much fun with the project! I loved the "hunt" and the challenge of finding a letter creatively. The kids had a grand time searching with me as well and asked each morning, "what letter day is it?" They also enjoyed the silliness of mama stopping the car to take a quick picture!

After taking all of those pictures I was so pleased with how they all turned out that I wanted to collect them all together... So I used PicMonkey and gathered them together into a collage.

And then, after seeing how nicely they looked I decided to make my very own alphabet poster. I uploaded my collage to Vistaprint and waited for my poster to arrive...

Of course it took me a while to actually frame the poster, and then to hang it...you know how it goes, but I love it so much!

It reminds me a bit of those "doors of _____" posters.

The kids are thrilled with it too...

Henry exclaimed, "Oh awesome! I didn't see that you hung that there, it looks great!" Don't you just love how encouraging kids can be sometimes, totally awesome, right!

It hangs in our office/guest room/sewing room, a place where we are often throughout each day. It makes me happy to walk into the room and see it.

It's also a fun reminder of our neighborhood, our winter, our "scavenger hunt" for the alphabet!

We have plans to get started on our numbers next! Perhaps that will be our "Spring Break" project!

Oh, and if you are interested, Sandra is in the middle of another #foliophoto project this week, a week long styling challenge. I haven't been following along with this one, but the photos coming out of it are beautiful!

Have a great day! Go out and find the beauty in the small and simple things.

03/25/2014

It's not really far away from where we live now, only about 2 hours, so "travel" and "home town" feel like very formal words for it all. But it felt nearly like traveling back in time as suddenly I looked around the room and saw friends of mine from high school, old coworkers, and parents of friends whom I haven't seen in years (and in some cases years and years!). It's fun and a bit sureal, talking to friends that you used to gossip with way back when and now suddenly chatting about labor and delivery and nursing and spit up clean up!

We had a lot of fun! I helped (a teeny tiny bit) with some of the decorations, mostly recycling some of Violet's Woodland birthday decorations, which happened to match perfectly with the hostess' dining room and the parents-to-be nursery theme!

The shower was for one of my oldest and best friends. She often reminds me of all the things I can make for her when she has a baby, funny girl! But really, I found myself getting so excited about making her little bitty baby things that I had to force myself to stop!

I started with a Noodlehead Divided Basket. I knew she wanted something like it (because she asked me) and I was thrilled to finally have the chance to sew one up! I have seen so many lovely ones around the internet and have one of my own thanks to Courtney, but hadn't yet had a chance to make one myself.

The outside fabric is Knotty Bois from Birch fabrics, she used this fabric to make a crib skirt for their nursery so I knew that this would fit right in. The pocket is Heather Ross, Far Far Away clothes line, lined with denim essex linen.

I've had this Heather Ross hanging around here for quite some time, but I've been hoarding it and "afraid" to use it! Ha, you know how that is, right. Anywho, this little pocket seemed like the perfect use for some of this laundry day fabric, right...

I really had to contain myself and stop sewing up those teeny tiny clothes, they were just so much fun to make! But then, I told myself I'd just sew them up some more after baby arrives and I know if I'm sewing for a baby girl or a baby boy!

And backed them with super soft organic terry cloth, this stuff is heavenly soft! I made some burp cloths with it when Henry was a baby , he fell in love with them so much that he has been snuggling with them since he was a little baby. And, Violet snagged a scrap the other day to snuggle with too!

Plus a laminate pocket bib for when he/she begins solids, the pocket is a must for catching those peas and cheerios! I scored the Summersville laminate from Courtney during "the great fabric destash" and thought it was perfect for a baby bib!

Of course, what's a baby gift without burp cloths (tee hee)! Most of the time, I used inexpensive prefolds as my burp cloths. That's what my mom used and what she suggested to me. But then, when Henry was a baby I was gift some pretty fabric and terry cloth burp cloths and I just loved that they were "pretty"! Obviously they didn't stay pretty for long, but that's not the point, it was just nice to have something that wasn't covered and stained with breast milk all over.

Anywho...I digress...I made some simple burp cloths...

I bought inexpensive prefolds and cut some quilting cotton (also obtained through "the great fabric destash" these fat quarters from Maureen) to the same size as the prefolds.

I sewed them together with right side of the cotton facing the diaper and leaving a two inch opening, turn right side out.

After the burp cloth is right side out, press and stitch around the edges. Next, I "quilted" the burp cloth ever so slightly by stitching up the lines of the prefold... Last, but not least...a fabric beach ball...

I used all of the fabrics that I used for the rest of the goodies in the ball to tie it all together. These little fabric balls are one of my favorites!

And, just because I love Manzanita Kids so very much...a little fox rattle to match... Oh, it was so much fun putting together this little basket of goodies!

I haven't sewn for babies in such a long time and now, all of the sudden, I have so many babies to sew for! The only trouble with making little baby things...that I sort of wish I was making them for me! Don't let my husband hear me say that!

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There have already been some amazing things over the past two weeks made using the patterns above! I can't wait to give each one of these patterns a try. Today, I made The Skater Dress...

And, in keeping with the Spring "theme" I donned rain boots and an umbrella. Well, that was mostly out of necessity, as it is actually raining and I had Violet take pictures of me outside while she stood insided! You know what they say "April showers bring May flowers!", yes I know it's March.

Oh this dress! This dress gave me quite the run for my money, but it wasn't the pattern, it was the fabric and my fuzzy, overworked, sick brain!

Anywho, the pattern is amazing! Amanda gives great tips on how to make sure you are getting your best fit, it comes together easily and, I love the detailed pictures and explanations she gives, but totally love the crib sheet too!

So the fabric...it's beautifully draping double knit from Jo-ann. One side is tiny grey and white stripes and the other grey with tiny white polka dots. My plan was to make the bodice stripes and the skirt striped. And then I confused myself and put the bodice together with the polka sides facing...ugh...seam ripper...bodice finished and then I stepped away for a bit. When I came back to add the sleeves and skirt I completely forgot about switching up the skirt!

All those tiny stripes and polka dots just kind of drove me a bit batty!

Oh well. So I made a stripey grey dress, with polka dots for the neckline and sleeves...

It's not what I planned in my head but I like it! And, bonus points...it's a bit blurry (Violet's still working on the focus thing), but I got most of my stripes all matched up too! Yay! The dress is really so very comfy, as I've heard others say before, I'll definitely be making another! And, despite getting my stripes and polka dots all mixed up in my head, something else kind of cool happened...

I made it reversible (although that might be debatable, Violet is unsure)!

Double sided fabric gives you something super fun on the other side! I simply pressed the seams open on the inside and top-stitched them down. I admit it's a bit funky, but I like it, with the herringbone stripes down the side!

So, I've got a two-fer dress! Oh, and did I mention the twirl? Gotta love the twirl!

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Well, for one have you seen the amazing patterns in it?!

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Welcome...

I'm Jane, thanks for stopping by! I hope you take your time and take a look around...If you do you'll our adventures in sewing, creating, crafting, gardening and exploring...it's what gets us through the day and fullfills us!
Also, please note: All pictures and content, unless otherwise noted, are mine. Please do not copy or take images or content from this site without my permission and without linking back here. Thank you!
Questions? You can find out more about me, email me, and learn a bit about the name Buzzmills on my About Me page (found at the top of the page)